Prep Baseball Report

Division III Team Of The Week: Week 7 - Cortland Lakeview


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division III Team Of The Week: Week 7 - Cortland Lakeview

CORTLAND - Success this season has not been a surprise to Cortland Lakeview head coach Cam Carson.

“We felt like we had a special group from the start,” related the mentor of the Prep Baseball Report Division III Team of the Week. “We knew we were going to have guys from each grade that were going to contribute. We also felt like we were going to be a good offensive team because we had guys who can hit to all fields and execute situations. I feel like all of this has held up throughout the season.”

This past week there were two wins to move the Bulldogs to 17-2 on the year, a 12-0 blowout of Boardman and a 4-3 win over league power South Range.

“Carter Doran came up with a big RBI to tie things up at 1-1 in the fourth inning against a really good arm in South Range’s Billy Skirpac and Gino Lazzari had a two-RBI double to give us the lead in the fifth,” noted Carson about the win over the seventh-rated team in Ohio in D-III that clinched the Northeast 8 Conference title for Lakeview. “Andrew Brown threw a really good game for us. He went six innings striking out eight and only surrendering two earned runs. He has been really good for us all year.

Brown is 4-0 on the season with a 1.70 ERA, striking out 36. Lazzari, who threw five shutout innings against Boardman, stands 3-1 on the mound with a 2.00 ERA.

“The contributions we have got on the mound from our staff have really stood out for us,” Carson explained. “I think the biggest question mark coming into the season was who was going to step up and take charge on the mound and I feel that as a staff we have done a nice job of keeping us in games, trusting our defense, and putting our offense in a good position.”

The bats have been solid all season with the Boardman game an example. Jake Nicholas and Matthew DeProfio were both 2-3 with three RBIs, Tyler Capan was 2-4 with a double and triple and two RBIs while freshman Nathan Paolucci was 2-3 with a pair of runs and an RBI.  

“We have been really good all season at situational hitting,” Carson said. “Something that I think has stood out to me is how composed our guys have been in every situation. We have been in a lot of tight games, we've come from behind, we've played with leads and our guys never seem to get too high or too low. They just trust themselves and trust each other to come through in big moments.”

Lazzari, an Akron commit ranked 113th among seniors in Ohio, tops the sixth-ranked D-III team in Ohio with a .404 batting average and .514 OBP, scoring 21 runs with 13 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Outfielder Andrew McRoberts, a Thiel commit who has been out with an injury most of the year, is batting .333 with nine RBIs and an OBP of .444.

Capan is hitting .310 with 21 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and a .437 OBP, Alex Stowe is batting .333 with 11 RBIs and a .500 OBP and Nicholas is at .310 with nine RBIs and a .482 OBP.

“Everyone who has been in the lineup has made some sort of contribution to our success,” Carson said. “We have had a couple freshmen who have contributed and came up big for us all year and, as I mentioned before, we have stepped up a lot as a pitching staff.

“I think trust has been a big thing for this team,” added Carson. “No one tries to do too much. For the most part these guys let the game come to them and just do their job. We do a nice job of rallying around one another and trusting the guy next to you to have your back. We just need to continue to do what we have done all year.”

The top seed in the Cene Park District, the Bulldogs will play at home on Wednesday against either Liberty or Middlefield Cardinal. If Cardinal wins, it could mean a matchup with pitcher Jake Bean, a Kent State commit ranked fourth in Ohio’s senior class.

“He is a very talented arm, but I feel good about our lineup versus anyone,” Carson concluded. “We will be up for the challenge and look forward to a good matchup.”

A Look Back At The 2022 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2021 Season:

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A Look Back At What Would've Been The 2020 Season:

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A Look Back At The Last Decade:

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A Look Back At The 2019 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2018 Season:

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A Look Back At The 2017 Season:

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